Sydney's Valentine
by Cass4
Summary: The third chapter is up...please read and review. Let me know whether you love it or hate it. Let me know if you have any ideas for another chapter. Thanks!
1. Running Late

Sydney woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the partly open door. "Mmmmm.five more minutes." She murmured rolling over and pulling the blankets tight around her body. She realized suddenly that the fabric against her bare legs felt different. She sat up in bed and was nearly blinded by the bright morning light coming through a large window. When she started to focus again, she found Michael Vaughn stretched out on the carpet reading the paper. His well defined muscles glowed in the sunlight to the waist of his worn blue jeans. "Good morning sleepyhead. I made coffee." He grinned at her as rose from the floor and made his way to the edge of the bed. He leaned in close and tucked her hair behind her ear and started to say.  
  
"SYD! Get your ass out of bed already! You're going to be late and so am I!" Sydney shot straight up in bed, heart pounding. She launched herself out of bed and crawled into the nearest pinstripe suit she could find. She grabbed her toothbrush as she hobbled around looking for her other shoe. Her hair would have to be dealt with later she decided. She flew downstairs and grabbed her keys. "I'm awake! I'm ready to go.I think." Francie smiled and shook her head at Sydney. "You're also buttoned up crooked, my dear." Sydney glanced down at her blouse in embarrassment. She redid the buttons quickly as Francie poured two cups of coffee for the road.  
  
They drove quickly along the freeway. Francie was listing her latest ideas for Valentine's Day specials for the restaurant. Sydney was trying to listen but she was still lost in her dream, attempting to picture Vaughn naked to the waist and acting as if she'd always been there with him. Why had she dreamt that? It was happening more just recently too which worried her further. Stupid Valentine's Day. Sydney decided that all of those commercials must have been getting to her.  
  
She dropped Francie off at the restaurant and wished her luck settling the menu. Hopefully there would be lots of hungry love birds tonight for Francie's sake. Sydney sighed. It had been too long since she'd gone to dinner with anyone except her friends or father and even longer since she'd woken up in someone else's bed. Too long maybe. What if she was forgetting what it was like? What if she ended up being 98 years old and still pining for a man she couldn't have? "Ack! Stop it!" she said out loud to herself. She took a deep breath and tried to slow her heart rate a bit as she pulled into the Credit Dauphine parking lot.  
  
She slid behind her desk hoping that no one would notice that she had been a few minutes late today. She was hardly ever late but still felt a pang of guilt when she was. Hopefully she could just get this day behind her and she could go home tonight, eat a pint of Hagan Daaz and collapse into a bath. Just get this whole day over with for another year.  
  
***  
  
Vaughn slumped at his desk watching his screen saver rotate. He hadn't been sleeping well lately and it was beginning to catch up with him. His dreams seemed to alternate between nightmares and fantasies. He couldn't decide which one he was more scared of. Maybe the fantasies because they were so unlikely to ever become reality.  
  
He sighed to himself for the thirtieth time that morning and caught himself creating an image of himself and Sydney walking hand in hand on a deserted beach. Stupid Valentine's Day he thought bitterly to himself trying to shove his thoughts aside.  
  
Weiss stuck his head in the door. "Hey Mike! What's up for tonight?" Vaughn looked up slightly startled. "Not much. Thought I might take in a hockey game or something. You?" Weiss smiled widely "I've got a date!" "Good for you." He said trying to sound enthusiastic. "Yeah, I can't wait. Tell you all about it tomorrow." He said as he started down the hall. Vaughn sighed wishing the day over once more.  
  
***  
  
Finally! Five o'clock quitting time. Sydney took the stairs to avoid her colleagues' discussions about their plans for the evening in the elevator. She made a beeline for her car and strapped herself in. She pulled out of the lot and called Francie to check in on the preparations. "Everything is going great!" Francie exclaimed. "The tables are filling up already." "That's wonderful hon! Good luck and I'll see you later tonight. Do you still need a drive?" "No that's okay. Derreck said he'd pick me up. Thanks for the offer though." "No problem. Talk to you later." "Bye Syd." Sydney disconnected and made a right at the grocery store. Priority number one she thought to herself. 


	2. A Surprise

Sydney arrived home with an armful of groceries. She dumped everything onto the countertop and quickly distributed it to the appropriate cupboards. She moved upstairs and changed out of her work clothes into a pair of comfy flannel pajama pants and her favorite old t- shirt. She settled in on the couch with ice cream in one hand and remote in the other. Ahh! A relaxing night for once. She switched the television on and began scanning for an old sappy movie. Her phone rang. Sydney sighed. Typical, she thought to herself. After letting it ring three times she finally answered. "Hello?" "Joey's Pizza?" Sydney's heart quickened as the familiar voice came across the line. "Sorry wrong number." She fumbled for the 'end' button. Sydney really hadn't been expecting to hear from Vaughn this evening. She had assumed that he'd at least have a date or something. Then again, she was beginning to think he was fast becoming a workaholic. Perhaps in an attempt to finish SD-6 off more quickly. She wasn't really sure why he would be contacting her for a meeting tonight. She smiled to herself and went upstairs to change. Maybe she didn't really care what the reason was.just that she got to see Vaughn again.  
  
***  
  
Vaughn wasn't sure how long it had taken him to muster up the courage to call Sydney. No one else knew that they were going to meet so he hurried to get ready so that he could scan the warehouse for bugs before she got there. He hoped that she wouldn't be offended or anything. When they had chatted earlier in the day she had seemed blue. Vaughn had decided that maybe he could make her feel a bit better. And maybe in the process feel a little less depressed. He smiled to himself as he pulled his jacket on and headed out to the car with several bags in tow. If this didn't help them both he didn't know what would. It was going to be quite an evening. 


	3. Promises

Disclaimer: These characters are the property of J.J. Abrams and Alias.  
  
Additional disclaimer: Please let me know what you think about this chapter. I'm always open to reworking something if it will make it a better piece. Please leave a review even if it's only a few words. Thanks.  
  
***  
  
Sydney strode toward the warehouse praying that he was already there. She thought she might explode if she had to wait for him to show up. As she pushed through the door and rounded the corner, Vaughn stood up and smiled at her. Sydney stopped and put her hand to her mouth. He was dressed in a black suit and shirt with a silver tie. He was fresh from the shower with his hair still slightly wet. She could smell his aftershave in contrast with the musty smell of the warehouse.  
  
Vaughn grinned at her surprise and chuckled to himself. She never suspected a thing. "Hi Syd. Have you had dinner?" He worried silently that he'd been too hasty in making a decision to do this tonight.  
  
Sydney blinked several times in disbelief at the scene before her. "No I haven't." she said "This is lovely Vaughn. Why did you go to all this trouble?" He glanced her way and grinned letting their eyes meet for only a moment. "It was no trouble at all. In fact it was my pleasure to do something for you for once. You're the one who's always out on the missions so I figured it was time to return the favor." He took her gently by the hand and led her to the table. He moved a box out for her and gestured for her to have a seat.  
  
He put on a silly accent and recited the menu to her. "This evening we will be dining on the finest Chinese take out money can buy." Sydney giggled at this side of Vaughn she really had never experienced before. She liked it.a lot. He uncorked the wine and poured two glasses. As he sat down across from her, visibly proud of himself that she'd been so surprised. Sydney could do nothing but watch him in sheer fascination as she wondered what had compelled Vaughn to do this so suddenly. "To us." He said quietly proposing a toast. Sydney couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as they toasted.  
  
She spooned food onto her plate and handed the paper box to him. She took a bite and chewed thoughtfully glancing over at him. "What are you thinking?" Vaughn asked playfully. "I was just thinking how nice it was to not to have to only talk about work with you for once." She admitted. "It is nice." He agreed.  
  
"It occurs to me that you probably know way more about me than I know about you, Michael Vaughn." Smiling devilishly at him with her dimples cutting deep canyons in her cheeks. He couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.or what it would be like to touch her face when she smiled like that. "Well.feel free to ask away. You've got me all to yourself this evening." He volunteered and then took a sip of his wine to avoid her eyes for a moment. She considered her potential questions then settled on one. "Favorite food?" "Are these the warm up questions?" Vaughn chuckled, "Actually it's Italian. You?" "Oddly enough, Chinese food," She responded, a bit surprised that he was asking questions as well. "What other type of food comes with its own utensils in little individual boxes? The elusive added bonus of no dishes!" Vaughn congratulated himself on his choice of food for the evening. "Alright, my turn again" she said moving onto to the next question, "did you ever try to talk your way out of a speeding ticket?" Vaughn nearly choked on his wine while Sydney took in every moment as if it might be her last.  
  
They talked for hours exploring one another's interests in music, books, and films. They talked about their experiences and memories from their childhoods and about trips that they had taken. They explored the mind of the person who they had longed to be so much more to for so long. Eventually the wine was gone and had loosened their thoughts further as they leaned close to each other across the makeshift table.  
  
"What does your future look like when you picture it?" Sydney ventured. The question hung heavy in the air between them as they both realized that their already complex future would become further entangled if they continued with evenings like this. Sydney instantly regretted her question when she became aware of how quiet Vaughn was all of a sudden. "I'm sorry Vaughn. That was out of line."  
  
Vaughn studied the tabletop, all of his worry lines visible in his forehead. "No you weren't." he took a deep breath, "I want to have a family. I want to wake up in the morning next to the woman I love more than life itself. I don't want to run for my whole life from evil. I want to grow old and die a happy man. I'm tired of all this hurt and pain that is in the world right now. That's the kind of future I picture when I dream at night. But my worst fear is that I'm never going to have the chance to have that." He looked off to the corner of the warehouse surprised at his speech. He hoped that she hadn't realized that the woman he was talking about was her but knew all too well that she understood already. "I'm sorry Syd. Got a little caught up in my rant. What about you?"  
  
Sydney knew that he'd included her in his vision of the future. All she wished was that they could get in the car and drive away and have their life. However, they both understood that there was more at stake in all of this then just a happy ending. She tried to smile at him through her misty eyes. "Would it be ridiculous to say that I want a little house with a picket fence? And when I walk into the house there's a family there and a man who will love me unconditionally even after everything I've been through and done to get to that point." Sydney wiped her eyes, embarrassed that she'd allowed herself to be so forward with Vaughn.  
  
Vaughn extended his hand across the table and gripped her slender fingers in his hand. "I promise you Sydney, that I will do everything in my power to make sure that you have that. That day is going to be here sooner than you think. I swear on my father's grave." The intensity in his voice was unmistakable. He had made an oath to her and intended to follow it through no matter what.  
  
Sydney grasped his hand in hers, remarking at the power she felt in his fingers. She rose from her seat and slid in next to him still holding his hand. She wrapped her arms around his chest as his arms slid around her. Sydney laid her head against his chest as he stroked her back soothingly. "And I promise you that I'll do anything it takes to make sure that you have the same Vaughn." She barely spoke the words before she started sobbing onto his shirt. He comforted her the best he could, holding her; defending her from evil even if it was only for the night. They sat for hours, just holding each other, silently repeating their pledges to each other hoping beyond hope that in the future they'd be together and those pledges would be fulfilled. Their emotions coursed through their embrace and said more than words would ever. They would triumph over evil, or die trying.  
  
Shortly before dawn Sydney woke still encircled in Vaughn's arms. He was staring into space, tear stains still noticeable on his cheeks. She pulled him tighter and he smiled softly realizing that she was awake. "Happy Valentine's Day Vaughn." "You too Syd." He replied quietly.  
  
Vaughn smiled at her again and kissed her lips softly. She squeezed his hand and slid off their crate. She walked to the entrance of the warehouse, then hesitated and turned around to face him again. "Thank you Michael." She smiled at him once more, her eyes wet with the tears that would come. He took in every detail of her face in the pale morning light. "You're welcome." Vaughn winked at her, "I'll see you later today."  
  
Sydney turned the key in the ignition and drove away making plans in her head and leaving Vaughn alone with his thoughts.  
  
*** Okay.very sappy I know. Please review though. Thanks again for reading this far. 


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